Tony Hates Twelve
by Help-I'm-A-Rock
Summary: Tony hates twelve. He’s always hated twelve. It makes him seethe with rage and want to throttle someone. Out of the infinite numbers that exist in the universe, and the mere billions that Tony knows of, twelve is by far his least favourite.


Random, late night, internal narrative monologue. Decided to write it down.

SPACE

Tony hates twelve.

He's always hated twelve. It makes him seethe with rage and want to throttle someone.

Out of the infinite numbers that exist in the universe, and the mere billions that Tony knows of, twelve is by far his least favourite.

When Tony was twelve, his father told him he was a disappointment and he should stick up for himself. He was booted out of the family circle and out of his inheritance. _This_ was decidedly the worst thing that had ever happened to him.

Every night, Tony's dad would smoke twelve cigars. Each one, Tony deduced, was bound to give him cancer. Now when Tony goes near smoke, he goes into terrible coughing fits. He can't use incense, use candles, have bonfires, date smokers… _This_ was then decidedly the worst thing that had ever happened to him…

Tony has twelve scars on his body from his cousins beating him up and has broken his arm twelve times. Each of these times, he convinced himself that _these_ were the worst things to have happened to him…

Tony's grandparents' home was his favourite place in the world. He would sit in the big tree in the garden and not come down until his father beat him out of there.

It was where he felt safest.

Then his grandparents died, and his dad decided he would develop the house into offices for his company. It fit 12 offices a floor. _This_ was then decidedly the worst thing that had ever happened to him.

When Tony went to high school, he was put in the twelfth, and bottom class for every subject. His father told the school he was retarded, and so the teachers decided they didn't want to waste valuable resources on letting him sit exams. _This_ was then decidedly the worst thing that had ever happened to him.

December is Tony's least favourite month. He likes the snow, but he hates Christmas because he's alone now. He hates the carollers and the 'Twelve Days of Christmas'. He figures they're just trying to prolong his pain. _This _is always the worst time of year.

The reason Tony hates twelve the most is because of Gibbs. His boss has a rule, Rule Twelve. It's the one stopping him from being with Kate. The reason he hates work. The reason he figures his life is a big hole. _This_ is most definitely and decidedly the worst thing to ever happen to him.

… … … … … … …

Tony's learning to like twelve. Kate's showed him there are lots of good things about it.

It's been twelve months since they told Gibbs they didn't care about Rule Twelve and he could fire them for all they care. He told them he'd think about it, but the fact was he was too lazy to fire them.

Kate has twelve freckles on her back. That's if you include the one shaped like India on her neck. Tony counted the once and he loves every single one of them.

Kate has six cups of coffee a day, each with two sugars. That's twelve sugars a day. Tony tells her she's 'already sweet enough' and she doesn't need the sugar. She just elbows him in the ribs and tells him to save it.

They move in to a studio apartment on 12 Grace Street. The flat is numbered 12 in gold. It's a large room that's sectored into a kitchen and living space with a bedroom and bathroom separate.

Kate calls it their nest. In a way it is; a small, cosy space in the middle of the city. Kate likes it best because of the view.

Tony likes it best because of the view. Not because he likes it. Sure, it is a beautiful view, but he likes the view because it makes Kate happy. So he is happy.

There's enough space for Kate's art stuff and her piano and enough to fit even more, she jokes. Tony knows she'll never get any more stuff than she needs. She's practical like that.

It's been twelve years since Tony was in the twelfth class, being shunned by his dad, with twelve scars, missing his grandparents' house, which is now an office block of twelve offices. Rule twelve is gone.

But it's December.

Tony doesn't mind anymore. It's because gets to spend Christmas with Kate. They listen to music. He cooks for her, and she tells him about herself and her family. They have a candle lit dinner without the candles and they fall asleep together on the couch.

Tony doesn't mind twelve anymore.

In fact, it's now his favourite number.

SPACE

I'm quite fond of that.

Tell me what you think.

Darcie


End file.
